Mental evaluation ordered for man accused of beating his mom

MERRIMACK -- The man accused of brutally beating his mother this past weekend was taken to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center Tuesday for a mental health evaluation.

According to court documents, Thomas V. Foden, 39, of Nashua, was scheduled to be evaluated at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Nashua hospital where experts were to determine if emergency admission to the New Hampshire Hospital would be appropriate.

Foden, who has a history of mental illness, has been charged with burglary and three felony counts of second-degree assault for allegedly pushing his mother's face into a glass cabinet and inserting his finger into her eye.

His mother, Alicia J. Flanders, 66, of 50 Pondview Drive, suffered severe injuries from the attack, including a ruptured eye socket, severed ear and serious laceration to her head that required staples.

If admission to the state psychiatric hospital is recommended, Judge Clifford Kinghorn of the 9th Circuit Court, Merrimack District Division, has ordered that Foden's bail be reduced from $150,000 cash only to $150,000 personal recognizance upon his admission.

However, Kinghorn's ruling states that once Foden is discharged from the hospital, the bail will be immediately reverted back to $150,000 cash bail, and that Foden be directly transported to the House of Corrections by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

'If no bed is available at the New Hampshire Hospital, and emergency admission is appropriate, the New Hampshire Hospital will notify the jail when a bed becomes available and the sheriffs will transport Foden at that point,' says court documents available for viewing Tuesday.

Foden, who was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia, has been ordered to have no contact with his mother, and to stay away from her housing complex at Pondview Estates if his bail is posted.

He allegedly called authorities to report the Sunday night assault, telling a dispatcher that his mother was dying. 'Yes, I got mad and beat her up,' he told the dispatcher, according to court records.

A Merrimack police detective was able to obtain a statement from Flanders, who said her son had kicked in the rear door of her home and attacked her.

'She stated that it happened so fast, but stated that her son just began to beat her,' says a police affidavit. Flanders was initially listed in serious condition, but a hospital spokesman said she was released from Massachusetts General Hospital after surgery Monday.

Foden has a history of arrests. In 1994 he was convicted of possession of a controlled drug, and in 1997 he was convicted of simple assault and resisting arrest. He is listed as unemployed and disabled in court documents. He will next appear in the Merrimack court at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 4 for a probable cause hearing.

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